What this show immediately demonstrates is that this guy probably has the most enjoyable job in the world.  What it also shows is that a lot of people (including my wife) could probably do the same thing he does just as well, and probably for less money.  Be that as it may, it’s kinda fun to see the pieces that he picks out and where they end up (In the latest episode, he buys a chandelier made out of recyled trash in South Africa, then sees it end up in the children’s room at the White House; figure that one out).

We may like this show more than others would, because some of the pieces Keith buys actually end up in my wife’s store.  She has a million stories about a skanky, smelly truck driver showing up at 6:00 in the morning at her store and dumping a truckload of all kinds of unimaginably crazy, bizarre pieces purchased by Keith all over the world.  Her job is then to try to find a way to place them artistically in the store and sell them to actual customers (something Keith never really has to think about in his travels).  Anyone who has ever been in an Anthropolgie store might like to see how the “found objects” get found.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Miss: Dunkin Donuts’ French Cruller, 2.0. A few years ago, the french cruller at DD was my favorite donut, edging out even the fresh-baked Krispy Kreme glazed. Then Dunkin’ took the donut off the shelf as part of an effort to expel all trans fats from the menu. When finally the donut showed up again, I was excited, then deeply, sorely disappointed. The new version is disgusting. I’m not sure what they used to replace those delicious trans fats, but I suspect it might be some sort of fossil fuel. I’ve tried to eat it twice (from two different DD locations), and haven’t even been willing or able to finish it—something that is completely new to me when it comes to donuts.

Hit: Glee (Fox). The pilot to this new serial dramedy debuted on Fox (and online via Hulu and on-demand) last spring, though the series itself will launch in the fall. It’s a self-aware and hugely entertaining show about a high school teacher trying to reclaim the glory of his alma mater’s show choir. It’s got a great cast and is chock full of cheesy ’80s anthems. What’s not to like? What remains unclear is whether the show can maintain its momentum as a weekly serial. It could be a challenge, but I’m willing to watch it try.

Miss: The 2009 pennies. In commemoration of Lincoln’s 200th birthday, you may have noticed some new one-cent coins in circulation. The front is the same, but in place of the Lincoln memorial on the back are a couple of scenes from Lincoln’s life. The first (and most hideous) shows Lincoln taking a break from splitting rails and sitting on a log reading a book. By his side is a sledgehammer that doubles as a carnival prop, and Lincoln doesn’t yet have the beard, but he does sport a bitchin’ blow-dried hairdo. The second shows a log cabin (presumably an artists rendition of Lincoln’s birthplace). Neither seems right to me, particularly because Lincoln himself was never fond of the “rail splitter” nickname or the born-in-a-log-cabin, though he tolerated them during elections. Plus, something about the pictures just seems off, like a gag gift or an arcade token. (As an aside, how is it the government is still making pennies? Is it even conceivable that it costs less than $0.01 to produce our lowest monetary denomination?) UPDATE: Some Googling reveals that there are four new penny designs, not just the two I mention in this post (and that I’ve actually seen in circulation). One of them (professional life in Illinois) I’m somewhat indifferent about, and the other three I think are awful.

Okay, I want to get a tattoo representing music. I have quite a few tattoos already and they are all well done (i was even fortunate to win a couple awards and be in a magazine – that’s my 15 minutes of fame!). So, I’m coming to you guys with a request. I am looking to get a tattoo that represents what music means to me. But I am having a problem with trying to define music with an image. I would like to avoid anything stereotypical like a guitar with wings, or a music note, etc. I am very passionate about the music I listen to but do not claim to be an expert by any means, so I also don’t want anything that would make someone think i’m a blues, jazz, metal freak, you know? Anyone have any ideas?

Here are my existing tattoos:

It was in junior high that I first realized I had artistic skill. It puzzled me to see other people in art class failing so miserably at drawing the most basic objects. I had always assumed that drawing (the most basic and perhaps most important skill an artist can have) was something everyone could do. Therefore when my classmates turned in the chicken scratch they called still-lifes I convinced myself it was because they weren’t really trying.

During my junior year of high school my mom signed me up for a portrait class being taught at the local arts & crafts store. My instructor was Loretta Jenkins, a local portrait artist from whom I learned a technique for accurately drawing portraits from photos. Similar to what happened to me in junior high I couldn’t understand why those around me were drawing such crap, I mean, you’ve got the picture right in front of you, how can you not make it work? The rendering skills I acquired lead to a few commissions, me being considered the “school artist”, and eventually winning the Spokane Scholar Award scholarship in art (best senior arts student in all of Spokane).

During my tenure in junior high and high school my opinions on art were being formed. And it was basically this: the more realistic it is the better it is. I loved Da Vinci, Vermeer, Ingres and David. I didn’t care much for Goya, Picasso and Cezanne. I despised Matisse and Pollack. In fact, I remember in debate class I gave what was supposed to be a persuasive argument for why modern art (whatever the hell that meant) wasn’t art and that realism (whatever the hell that meant) was the only legitimate artistic expression. And don’t try to convince me otherwise, I’m the school artist.

So here I was, the best senior artist in Spokane (supposedly), and I probably could have gone to any art school in the country. So to the chagrin of my counselor I decided to go to the prestigious art mecca, Rick’s College in Rexburg, Idaho (long, uninteresting story that involves late applications resulting in rejection letters, my counselor yelling at the school’s admissions and summer school).

So I get to Ricks and the first art class I take is a lecture class called Intro to Visual Arts. This class was beneath me. Except that I learned more about art thinking and art history in that one class than I had in my entire life leading up to that point. It was there that the seed was planted in my head that art may not be entirely about rendering skill. My second class was Basic Drawing (by Leon Parson, brother of less talented but more famous Del Parson). This class was beneath me. Except that I learned more about art and drawing in that one class than I had in my entire life leading up to that point. Toward the end of the semester Leon asked me to bring my portfolio to his office and we’d have a chat. He proceeded to tell me that I wasn’t an artist. Me, Rusty Clifton, CV High School artist, winner of the Spokane Scholar Award, best artist in his class and he was telling me that I wasn’t an artist! Who the hell does he think he is? He says that I am a graphic designer. No way am I a graphic designer (btw, what’s a graphic designer?). He told me to take Intro to Graphic Design and form an opinion when it’s over.

I took the class and it was over.

I had now taken History of Art 1 & 2 among other classes and my opinion about art was slowly shifting, but it never shifted so dramatically as it did one night at a friend’s dorm room discussing his (poor) taste in music. He was listening to Rage Against the Machine when I self-righteously asked how he could like a band that clearly had no vocal or instrumental skills. He replied, “but I don’t listen to music for the artist’s skill, I listen to it because it makes me feel a certain way.” I had no response. It was at that moment that I realized art was about ideas and expression, not about how well the eyes and lips are shaded.

After my mission I went directly to BYU and went through the amazing BFA design program. It was at Ricks that I learned how to beautify. It was at BYU that I learned how to think. There I learned that Graphic design is about communicating ideas, not making stuff look nice.

At this point I pretty much knew I was going to be a designer for the rest of my life. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I wanted to teach it. Of course teaching at the university level requires a masters degree so I applied to a few schools and decided to go to SVA in New York City (the center of the design universe). The School of Visual Arts had an MFA Design program with all the right answers (Steven Heller as chair, amazing teachers/networking, and a program focussed on design entrepreneurship), perfect for me.

The program was great, the teachers didn’t disappoint, the thesis project was a wonderful experience and it all totally burned me out (it’s ironic that I go to grad school only for it to burn me out on what I went there for). As a result, I got a job doing mindless design and have cared very little about my industry since then (in fact I’ve often dreamt about quitting my job, buying an old brownstone, fixing it up and selling it…as a job. I’d surely enjoy that more than my current job and likely make more money). Because the thought of communicating someone else’s messages for the rest of my life is depressing to me I’ve been working on starting a business that is tangentially related to my thesis and isn’t design-centered. In other words, I’m more interested in designing a successful business than I am in doing graphic design.

Who knows where I’ll go from here. I still love art and design, have plenty of opinions and will perhaps teach one day, but for now I’m still figuring out what I want to be when I grow up.

Something seemed oddly familiar about the Sony PS3 logo:

Now where have I seen THAT before? Lemme think:

Sony steals from itself for its new logo?!? COME ON, PEOPLE! Hire some creative staff for once.

What other pirated fonts have you seen lately?

Is this art? Is it marketing? Any theories? I especially like the Jon Brion quote in the article: “Everyone in the country is in therapy and spending all their money on self-help books so their little internal voice will be able to say, ‘I am good and I am OK.’… If you’re going to believe all the stuff about positive thinking and self-actualization, that we affect our environment by the way we think about ourselves, do you want a better example than Kanye West? F*ck Tony Robbins. Kanye West should have infomercials.”

I will weigh in later but I’d like to see what everyone else says first.

The old logo is on the left, new on the right.